[ Reviewed by: Jay ] - [ Date: Friday,
14th December, 2001 ]
This map has been ready for a while, waiting
for the right time to be released - right
time as defined by the authors, because
The Resident SPQ2 Fiend and other SPQ2 fans
in the know have been looking forward to
this one for quite some time.
Right off the bat, we are treated to a
typical Kona map - visually very slick and
detailed, with textures by Metlslime from
Oblivion, according to the text file. The
sky, though, is trademark Kona: blue, beautiful,
and very different from most other skies,
even if we do not see a lot of it in this
map. The theme is another Strogg base, but
this one is by no means YASB. The MetsFan
was very taken with the lighting, and The
Fiend concurs. Again typical of a Kona map,
the action meanders around and around, and
you get to revisit the same area many times
from different vantage points and through
different doors, very reminiscent of Machine
Reborn. In other words, if you see a door
you cannot go through, either it will open
for you later, or you will find yourself
coming through it from the other side. The
Fiend found only one of the two secrets
- it is in plain sight, but requires taking
damage to get. Actually, there are a couple
of places that require taking some damage
to proceed, which both The Fiend and MetsFan
find distasteful - but one could argue that
Real Life(tm) also requires damage occasionally...
Layout was fairly linear; there are alternative
paths to pursue, but not very far if one
wants to progress. Still, it did not feel
like cattle-in-a-chute construction to The
Fiend. Maybe it was the lighting.
Watch out for that slime, though - if you
fall in it, you're toast, because there
is generally no way to get out of it.
Gameplay?
Well it is up to the usual Kona standards,
but maybe not as tough as some. Satyr was
a a lot harder, with 197 enemies to the
120 here, and even Machine Reborn had a
tougher ending. Nonetheless, you are never
going to be bored. Placement is excellent,
and the authors are not afraid to spawn
new enemies in cleared areas. In fact, this
may be another minor gripe for The Fiend:
the enemies spawn with no teleporter sound
and no warning except for the typical Quake
2 "thunk" sound. Still, the combat
is quite survivable, and ammo is quite adequate,
especially for us Blaster Fiends. Be careful
of the health, though. There is enough of
it, but by no means too much. MetsFan was
not too fond of the ending, and it was indeed
a tad difficult, particularly if one does
not have the Quad Damage for the Makron.
Not too many places to hide, but The Fiend
managed, after some On-The-Job training,
in the form of getting killed out...
Final remark: once you've taken down the
Jorg/Makron mentioned in the story, that's
it. You will be thrown into another map,
but you have accomplished your mission,
and can take a rest.
Another Superb effort from Kona, this time
in conjunction with Metlslime. Go forth,
all you Fiendlets, and blast those Strogg
to gibs in these delightful surroundings...
and remember to let Kona and Metlslime know
how much you enjoyed their efforts...
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